DENVER -– Playing in the finale of a five-game road trip, the Sharks were downed by Colorado in a shootout on Wednesday at Pepsi Center, 4-3.
A seesaw third period saw the teams tied at the end of regulation.
Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog gave his club its first lead of the game at 11:45 of the final frame. On a rush, he stayed with his own rebound to smack it through Martin Jones for his 15th goal.
The Sharks tied it with Jones pulled for an extra attacker, as Joel Ward got position in front of the net and flicked in a Joe Thornton dish at 18:29.
The Sharks had the better of the chances in overtime, but Calvin Pickard stopped Joonas Donskoi and Brent Burns on breakaway tries.
Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene scored in the shootout, while Donskoi and Joe Pavelski couldn’t convert as the Avs grabbed the extra point in the standings.
San Jose (32-21-6, 70 points) remains in third place in the Pacific Division, two points behind Anaheim. The Ducks beat the Sabres on Wednesday night, 1-0.
Burns’ 20th goal had given the Sharks a 2-1 edge at 1:50 of the third. The defenseman corralled a pass from Tomas Hertl at center ice and streaked into the offensive zone, and his wraparound try went off Eric Johnson’s skate and through Pickard.
Jarome Iginla’s one-timer from the circle on a Colorado power play made it 2-2 at 5:35, though, marking the second time the Sharks couldn’t hold a one-goal lead after they opened the scoring.
The Sharks finished their trip with a 3-1-1 record. They are 5-1-2 in their last eight overall.
Making his Sharks debut, forward Nick Spaling scored on his first shift. Lining up as the fourth line left wing, Spaling buzzed a shot through defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk’s legs and high over Pickard at 2:10 of the opening frame.
Spaling and defenseman Roman Polak were playing in their first games with San Jose after a trade with Toronto on Sunday.
Spaling’s former linemate Shawn Matthias, who was acquired by Colorado on Sunday from Toronto and was also playing in his first game with a new club, knotted the game at 1-1. Carl Soderberg’s shot rebounded off of Jones’ pad to the slot, where Matthias brushed it in with a backhand at 13:02.
A fast-paced first period gave way to a slower second, and neither team was able to score. Jones made a couple key stops late in the frame denying Soderberg’s stuff attempt on a power play with 3:07 to go, and knocking away a MacKinnon wrister from the circle with his blocker shortly after the power play expired.
By the midway point of the game, Spaling replaced Matt Nieto on the Sharks’ second line with Patrick Marleau and Ward, while Nieto went down to the fourth line. DeBoer continued his line shuffling for the rest of the game.
Colorado was playing its final game before hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field on Saturday as part of the NHL’s Stadium Series.
San Jose and Colorado concluded their four-game season series, with each club winning twice.
Special teams
San Jose went 0-for-1 on the power play, and 2-for-13 on the five game road trip, with both coming against St. Louis on Monday.
Colorado was 1-for-2. The Sharks were just 6-for-10 on the penalty kill on the trip.
In goal
Jones started all five games on the roadie, and 14 of the previous 15 overall. He made 37 saves.
Pickard was starting his second straight against San Jose, as starter Semyon Varlamov was battling an illness. He allowed three goals on 34 shots.
Lineup
To make way for Polak, defenseman Dylan DeMelo was scratched after playing 31 straight games. Polak was paired with Brenden Dillon, who was returning from a six-game absence with an upper body injury.
Tommy Wingels (upper body) missed his second straight, while Matt Tennyson (probable concussion) and Mike Brown (healthy) were also out.
Up next
The Sharks host the Sabres on Friday, beginning a stretch of eight straight games against teams not in playoff position at the start of Wednesday night’s action.
San Jose won in Buffalo on Nov. 14, 2-1 in overtime.
